We get many lovely comments from the teams and carers we work with, all incredible lifelines for our clients in their own right.
Testimonials from Clients & Carers
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Success Stories
The following are some of our testimonials, success stories and news about the financial support services we provide to our elderly and vulnerable clients:
Les
27/9/53 - 24/5/25 Les, or Sir Les, as he was referred to by his brother, Trevor, was born on Sunday 27th September 1953. It was lunchtime and Trevor, 9, was shipped out to the flat below to the neighbours, not knowing was what going on. Eventually, the family moved to...
David
David’s family were recommended to the PDS in 2017. David was living in accommodation which was a long way from his parents in Suffolk. David suffers from epilepsy, and every time he had a fit, the care team were required to notify the emergency services, as they were...
Stuart in Suffolk
A short story of a life, as told by Neil Cawthorn Stuart came to the PDS as one of our first clients in 2012.He had problems. Problems where he stayed, breaking the place up.Problems in hospital, where he often ended up. Problems with his money. It might be said that...
Amanda
The following is written by Amanda’s uncle. The family have given permission for publication of Amanda’s life in the hope that it will be of help to families in similar situations. Amanda Coleman arrived at Mill Road maternity hospital, Cambridge, on 1st July 1964....
Stewart
Stewart was introduced to the PDS by Nottinghamshire County Council Social Services in April 2021. Stewart had been the victim of financial abuse and as a result his benefits had been stopped. Stewart also had significant debts. We were able to unfreeze Stewart’s...
Alex
Alex had been a ‘Posty’ and personified it, as the photo shows; always happy to say hello, always cheerful, always someone you’d be pleased to meet. I met him for the first time at the Shaftesbury Residential Centre at Lowestoft, where he’d washed up having gone...
Margaret
Margaret was an extremely talented retired photographer. Unfortunately she suffered a brain injury from multiple strokes 2 years ago. Margaret was referred by NHS Continuing Care to the PDS as she was estranged from her family. In the time that we knew...
Tony
Tony had a remarkable principal carer, whose name was Maria. She was more like a daughter to him. Here’s what she said at the funeral. ‘Tony was a born with Learning disabilities but, it doesn't mean that he didn't have rights. He lived his life...
‘Jane’ written by her family member
My initial instruction to you resulted from concern regarding arrangements in place at that time, managed by the local authority department. Contact with The PDS was prompted by very favourable references from other clients. Since assuming responsibility for Jane's...
“Daniel” written by his care home manager
We have supported Daniel to use the services provided by the PDS and I can attest to the positive benefit that it has had on his quality of life and health. Having the confidence and freedom to support him to make choices in his best interest has enabled holidays to...
Praise from Pamela’s nephew
I am writing on behalf of my aunt, Pamela who is 91 years old. Jonathan is my cousin. I know Jonathan is very happy at his home, supported by Mencap and he is very well taken care of. He is totally dependant on the people who look after him as he is both mentally and...
Kayleigh’s story
I am Kayleigh’s biological Aunty. When Kayleigh was 6 months old she became very poorly and my sister (her natural mother) was unable to look after her; my parents took over the role and got custodianship. Kayleigh suffered with seizures until the age of 10 years old,...
Jamie’s story
We are the adoptive parents of Jamie who became a member of our family in 1998 aged 7. He had been in care for about 3years, had suffered abuse and had special needs including autistic spectrum disorder. He had little verbal communication at the time and required 24/7...
Dianne’s story
I am writing to you to provide an outline of my unique situation and the difficulties I have supporting my sister, Dianne. From my address you can see that the most obvious one is that of distance, in addition to that I have to draw attention to the different...
Delia’s story
On 31/5/18 – Lynn, Delia’s sister & Attorney, rang the PDS from Sydney ,Australia. She was referred to us by ACE – a Suffolk advocacy charity. Delia became 55 on 25 June and lives in Suffolk in a two bed house which was the family home and where she lived...
Lara’s story
Lara was living in a large house with shared communal areas and the only space to call her own was her bedroom. Unfortunately, Lara was not allowed to decorate it to reflect her own taste. As is common with shared use of communal rooms, Lara found using the kitchen...
Marty’s story
Marty lived in a supported housing scheme with the use of a shared kitchen, bathroom and lounge and it is important to note that he hadn’t chosen the people he lived with. As a result, Marty found communal living a little challenging and became disengaged with the...
“Mary’’
Mary was in a muddle with her money. Her partner had died and, as well as another property, there were pensions, investments and shares that were gradually taking over the dining room table. Her Doctor agreed she had capacity and that allowed her to instruct the PDS...
“Ernie’’
Ernie is a widower living on his own. He has help come in to do his washing and cleaning and neighbours who he sees regularly to eat with. He can still drive, but recognised some years ago he needed to have someone to help, should he need it. He has no children and...
About “Ellie”
“I would like to add my support to PDS’s continued long term help and support to my sister, Ellie. Ellie has three older brothers, aged 68, myself aged 67 and another aged 65 Our parents died when she was young and she has been in residential care from the age of...
A story about “Phillip”
I live in Suffolk in a group home. My parents live fairly close and I see them regularly. I am a sociable and happy person but I need 1:1 support to do a lot of things. On weekdays I have dedicated personal assistants to enable me to have an active...